Macie Greene
Mg8797@mhslive.net
Mitchell Middle School held volleyball tryouts last week to find its Junior Varsity and Varsity teams for the season.
This will be the first year that both Bowman and Harris Middle school will be combined for the volleyball season.
The combined Mitchell Middle School volleyball program will have both Junior Varsity and Varsity teams. Although each school in their conference only has one team, the Junior Varsity team will have the opportunity to play each team on their schedule once and the varsity team will play each team twice.
The coaching staff for junior varsity includes Chloe Carter and Emilee Slagle, and the varsity staff include Brittany McKinney, Juliana Buchanan and Ciji Dellinger, who works with both Junior Varsity and Varsity.
As the teams merged throughout the summer McKinney said it was a good transition.
“It’s good to start now,” said McKinney. “The sooner they all play together the better.”
As the season begins all the coaches agreed that expectation and communication were going to be the key factors to a good season.
Head Coach Juliana Buchanan plans to continue building the middle school program. This past summer she held open gyms and workouts for the girls to come together and get used to one another.
“Merging the teams will be better for later on,” said Buchanan.
Carter, the youngest of the coaching staff and a junior in college, is deeply passionate about the sport.
“This is what I have wanted to do since I was in high school,” said Carter. “I feel that I can connect with my players because I was in their shoes not that long ago.”
Carter said that it is hard being a young coach but also exciting.
“I understand how hard it can be to be young and unexperienced,” said Carter. “However, I have had great mentors to help prepare me for this role as a coach.”
Carter said she is open to learning as much as she can from experienced coaches.
“I still have so much to learn,” said Carter. “I am always looking for ways to learn and mature as a young coach.”
As Carter finishes her time at Appalachian State University, she is excited for what the future holds.
“I have made so many great connections,” said Carter. “From other coaches, my players, and classmates in college, I am excited for what is to come and grateful for this opportunity.”
As all the coaches come together to make the season the best they can, each one has something to bring to the table. All the coaches agreed on one thing: “We hope to have a great season.”